The French-Arab repertoire (2nd part)

At the beginning of the 1930’s, artists from Algeria, Tunisia, Morrocco, often but not always Jewish, adapt songs mixing French and Arab language with latin rythms (rumba, cha-cha-cha, tango) or covers from French variety. This musical style will be very popular, and labels like Pathé will begin recording these songs in 1935, and especially after the war. The success of this French Oriental or French-Arab repertoire will continue in France after the decolonization and the exodus of Jewish Arab people in the 1960’s. New labels, such as Dounia, will record hundreds of songs for the nostalgic people of the lost heaven.

The first show made us discover the pioneers of this style (Lilli Labassi, Saoud l’Oranais, Louisa Tounsia, Salim Hallali) as well as important women’s voices who served it with passion (Reinette l’Oranaise, Line Monty…).
This second show will talk more of the lives and works of a few big names from singers of the second generation. Among them : Blond-Blond, Lili Boniche, Albert Darmon dit Staïffi, Luc Cherki, El Kalaoui Tounsi, Maurice El Médioni, without forgetting the cantor of Jewish Arab songs : Enrico Macias.

Raoul Bellaïche, chief redactor of the magazine Je Chante ! will be one more time the guest of this program, where we will listen famous songs, such as L’albinos (Blond-Blond), Bambino (Lili Boniche), Faubourg Montmartre (Staïffi), Adieu mon pays (Enrico Macias), Je suis pied-noir (Luc Cherki), Hayarni zinel (El Kalaoui Tounsi) and Oran-Oran (Maurice El Médioni).

Look at the magazine Je Chante ! n°12.
Listen to a selection of French-Arab songs from the collections of the EIJM.
Listen to the first part of the show on French-Arab song repertoire.